WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #117 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Sophie Campbell, Ronda Pattison, and Shawn Lee, on sale now.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been fighting one battle after another, all in the hopes that winning enough of them might save them from the horrifying vision of the future they’ve been warned of by the time traveling Lita. After rescuing Karai from a helicopter crash, wrangling Tokka and Rahzar, and convincing Jennika to wallop Bebop and Rocksteady in a Battle of the Bands, things might actually be looking up for the Heroes in a Half-shell. Not only can they safely assume that the era their time traveling visitor is returning to will be better, but they may have even just ended their longest running war, and for good this time.
Once the dust has settled in Mutant Town, the time has finally come for everyone to go their separate ways. Karai, Bludgeon, and Koya have all been under the care of the Splinter Clan since their crash, and are finally well enough to take their leave. As she prepares to depart from the Splinter Clan Dojo, Karai tells Leonardo that she is in his debt, and when pressed on the matter confirms that the two clans can consider themselves to have an official truce. This is good news for both sides, as their centuries old feud has brought nothing but death and destruction. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be the first time that the Splinter and Foot Clans have made such an agreement, and it didn’t even come close to sticking the last time.
When Splinter and Shredder faced off for the last time during 2015’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #50 by Tom Waltz, Mateus Santolouco, and Cory Smith, the Shredder was slain by his old rival, and Splinter rose to become the leader of the Foot Clan. Karai had offered Splinter control of the Foot before leaving for Japan, and once she had returned to New York City, so had her vicious aspirations of absolute power. Once it came time for Karai and Splinter to negotiate a return of the Foot Clan to her, things broke down over Splinter’s unwillingness to either conscript or execute the young children in the Foot’s possession. This led Karai to launch a direct assault on the then leader of the Foot, though her coup attempt would be interrupted by the supernatural machinations of the ancient witch Kitsune. Splinter would unfortunately sacrifice himself to save everyone, leaving Karai free to once again claim control of the Foot Clan, although nothing truly took away the sting of her vicious actions.
Even now it is clear that the Turtles don’t trust Karai when it comes to keeping the peace, nor do they trust her with children, especially not the kind that weigh several tons. Karai had only recently acquired Tokka and Rahzar from a begrudging Old Hob when her helicopter crashed and set the two overgrown, underdeveloped mutants free. The Turtles were able to wrangle the duo and keep them from being killed by Bebop and Rocksteady, and although they don’t have any real idea how they would handle these two, they are certain that leaving them in Karai’s care is not an option. While this could have easily led to a breakdown in their negotiations, Karai is shockingly amenable to the idea of letting go of Tokka and Rahzar to save herself the trouble and stay in the Splinter Clan’s good graces.
If this really is the end of the war between the Foot and Splinter Clans, it could very well be the biggest victory that the Turtles have ever achieved. Even compared to more ominous threats, the fact that the feud between the Sakis and Yoshis has been ongoing for so many years makes it the bloodiest conflict they have ever been in.
The feud between the clans has also been central to the very identity of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles throughout every single iteration of the franchise. Now that it has seemingly been resolved, there is no telling what the future might hold.
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